Transformation
An 'Island of Doctor Moreau' fanfic
I wrote this completely by accident after reading both the original novel and one of the screen adaptations one night, and I successfully scared the crap out of myself. This is a one shot for now, but I may manipulate this scene into a story sometime in the near future.
I clung to the thick metal bars, fighting to stay standing on my own two feet. As to why, I couldn't quite recall, I just knew I had to stay upright. Thick black fur crept over my body, starting at my private areas and spreading outward. My fingernails thickened into claws right before my eyes, sharp black points at the ends of my now stubby fingers. I couldn't see myself, but my face felt strange. The nose and mouth area seemed to have protruded into a short muzzle, but somehow I still managed to keep talking, even though it hurt my throat to do so. But then, everything hurt. My very skin prickled with continual agony, thickening on my palms and the soles of my feet as the silky black fur pushed through my pores. I felt my ears stretch, sliding up the side of my head to perch on top. They swiveled atop my head, laying flat to my skull in pain and fear. Blackness prickled at the edges of my vision, but I couldn't let myself pass out. Who knows what that horrible doctor would do to me then. A fresh jolt of pain arrowed down my spine, forcing me to choke back a cry as joints realigned and vertebrae were added onto my tailbone. My knees popped, nearly making me stumble as the joint flipped backwards. I bit back a whimper as my jaw distended and my teeth sharpened into predatory fangs. But I remained upright, relying more and more upon the bars to keep me that way as my feet became increasingly paw like. A small part of my mind found it amusing how similar standing on paws was to standing on tiptoe, but I mostly ignored it to maintain my focus. I realized that I was still babbling to myself, running over my entire human life with slurred syllables that sounded disturbingly like feline growls.
"Still on your feet, I see."
Startled, my voice cut out with a painful mew as I jerked my head up in the direction of the voice. A man stood in the doorway, his white suit crisp and clean. He was vaguely familiar, though I couldn't quite pin down why.
"Actually, paws would be more accurate. I have to say I am surprised at how quickly the procedure has taken effect. Barely four days, and already fully furred."
The man smiled, an eerie gesture, walking towards me as he spoke. I watched him approach, trying to remember. A name, a unique name.
"Moreau. Doctor Elijah Moreau."
Moreau's eerie smile widened, his intense blue eyes sparkling as he stood before my cage just out of arms reach.
"Excellent! You retain the ability to speak, even with an almost entirely feline face."
He leaned forward, evidently curious about something.
"Though, your ears seem to have disappeared…"
I barked out a short laugh, my cat-like ears pricking up momentarily before pressing flat to my skull again. The expression of surprise on the doctor's face was worth the agony caused by such actions. A whimper of pain slipped by my thick lips, and I leaned heavily against the steel bars. Somehow, I still managed to look Moreau in the eye, though my body vibrated with the effort.
"Remarkable. Maintaining a human sense of humor despite your situation."
The doctor smiled his eerie smile, and I felt a tremor of fear run down my distorted spine. He took a step forward, slipping a hand into his creamy waistcoat.
"One more injection should take care of that."
Before I even knew what I was doing, I had leapt back from the bars, stumbling into the concrete wall and out of the man's reach. Moreau frowned, removing a tiny syringe full of clear liquid from some inner pocket.
"You really don't want me to come in after you. I must have the reversion information, and I will acquire it, whether you like it or not. Now, stop being difficult, else I will be have to resort to force."
I cringed away from him, pressing myself into the corner, ignoring the pop of my shoulder realigning itself.
"Don't want. Hurts."
The doctor raised an eyebrow inquisitively, and I made to elaborate, but a gruff bark came out instead of the words I meant to say. My deformed hand flew to my throat, prompting a wide grin from Moreau. I tried again to speak with the same results.
"I was wondering when your vocal chords would reconfigure. A further injection seems unnecessary, at least for now."
Capping the syringe, the doctor placed in back in his hidden pocket, no that it really mattered. Tears spilled down my face, slithering through the fine black fur as I tried again and again to talk, paw-like had to my throat. Harsh, coughing barks came out instead, reminding me of a jaguar I saw at the zoo once. I could hear Moreau talking, and I realized that I only understood every other word or so. Moreau. The doctor had turned me into this, so he could change me back. Right? Clinging to this thought, I pushed off from the wall, stumbling towards the cage bars and the monologing doctor. I slipped on the straw a few steps from the door, but I grabbed the steel bars before I could fall. Struggling upright with help from the bars, I found Moreau looking at me with a strange expression on his pale features. Leaning heavily upon the steel, I reached out through the bars, painfully wrenching y shoulder as I did so. My hand, no, my paw found the doctors' shoulder, and I gave him the most imploring look I had, praying he would understand. A pitiful whimpering whine slipped out of me, an animal begging for mercy. I felt my pride keel over when I realized this, but it didn't bother me as much as I thought it would. The doctor reached into his waistcoat, his expression unreadable to my eyes. Wondering if this was because I was more animal than human, I saw the syringe too late. Moreau plunged it into my foreleg, I couldn't call it an arm anymore. Lava flooded my veins, and I was out before I hit the floor.
Creepy, no? I know that Moreau's first name is not Elijah, but in both versions of the book, Moreau died, so I made up a successor. I think maybe it's his son or something, I haven't decided yet. For those wondering, the character narrating is a girl, and she is turning into a panther. Please direct any questions to me in your reviews or by PM-ing me, though most of the obvious ones can be answered by simply reading the book. I prefer the screenplay adaptation by Joseph Silva, it's more story than the original, which is more technical and a tad bit gorier. Also, I took most of my inspiration from the adaptation, so that would be the one to read to get your questions answered.
Hope you enjoyed my one shot!